Midsummer traditions
by Lora Kael
Summary: Fluff. Will and Maddie do a lot of things together and not all of them are about saving the fief or kingdom from danger. Sometimes they are just about life and learning and bonding them closer together. This time it's time for Will to teach Maddie about a very important tradition. After all, nothing is more important than food and drink.


Maddie was just finishing up her morning chores when Will came back into the cabin and told her to get ready to go out.

"Where're we going?"

"Just out for a little ride. Bring a canvas bag," he added, before grabbing his quiver and bow and heading back out.

Feeling curious she quickly grabbed a bag before taking her own quiver and bow and joining Will in the stables. She noticed that Will had taken an empty bag with him, too.

"So," she said once they were on their way. "Why are we bringing bags today?" She knew Will had a reason in mind, he just didn't always share it with her right away. She hoped he might share his reasons today instead of having to wait or try to figure it out for herself.

"We are going hunting," Will replied.

"Oh." Maddie reached up to loosen the flap covering her arrows so she could reach them more quickly, but Will stopped her.

"That won't be necessary, Maddie. Our target won't be going anywhere."

Maddie looked at him quizzically, but lowered her hand again. Will was being cryptic today, which meant she wouldn't get any straight answers until they reached wherever their 'target' was.

They rode on in silence, Will content and seemingly relaxed, Maddie furiously thinking and trying to figure out what Will had meant with his earlier words. And Maddie thinking was exactly the reason Will didn't always explain everything in advance; he wanted her to use her mind and consider different scenarios.

Maddie was brought out of her thoughts when Will spoke again.

"We're here."

Maddie looked around. She didn't see or hear any animals except for some small birds, so she wasn't sure what target Will had been talking about. There was simply nothing to hunt here; just bushes and trees. She looked at Will for an explanation, but he was now dismounting and not looking at her.

"Get off Bumper and bring the bag," he instructed her.

Maddie did as told, still completely mystified. She went up next to Will, who was looking at some flowering trees or bushes – Maddie wasn't quite sure which it was – and opened her mouth to finally ask Will for an explanation, when Will spoke again.

"Time to get to work."

Maddie couldn't wait any longer; she needed an explanation now. "Get to work with what? And _on_ what? Where's our target?" She looked at Will in exasperation. So far none of what he'd said had made sense compared to their actions.

Will looked at her and made a hand gesture towards the flowering trees/bushes, whatever. "This. As for the answers to your many questions, they are: your knife, the flower clusters, and these trees."

Maddie stared at him not comprehending why Will wanted her to cut flowers from a tree.

Will saw her confusion and decided it was time to explain further. "These are elder trees, and the flowers can be used for food and drink. We are here to harvest them."

"Which is why we needed to bring the bags..." Maddie said, catching on.

"Exactly," Will said nodding. "So set your bag on the ground, make sure it stays open, and get to work. We want as many as we can get. Oh, and don't squish them; just drop them lightly into the bag."

Maddie nodded her understanding and did as Will had told her. She still wasn't quite sure why they were doing this, but at least she now had an idea of what they could be used for.

She quickly got a good deal into her bag, but then ran into the problem that she couldn't reach the clusters of flowers. Looking sidelong at Will she saw he had stepped up onto a fallen trunk, giving himself some extra height. Maddie looked to Bumper and beckoned him closer. She tied the bag to the saddle, then swung up into it and went back to cutting flower clusters. When sitting no longer offered her enough height, she just stood up in the saddle.

Will smiled slightly seeing her intense and focused way of working; he was proud to see her development as his apprentice and hoped this would be a good learning experience for her as well. He knew how much pride she took in being able to do things for herself and do them well.

Finally Will called them to a stop as the bags were full; any more and they would have had to squish the flowers to close the bags.

"What now?" Maddie asked clearly curious and ready for the next step. Will had mentioned food and drink and that always got her excited.

Will smothered a smile before it could take over his expression. Instead he calmly said: "Now we tie the bags behind our saddles and ride back. We'll be patrolling the area at the same time, so we'll take another route."

Maddie nodded her understanding and complied.

They rode back through the forest in companionable silence, but Will didn't turn towards the cabin and instead continued into Wensley. Maddie followed wondering what this was about, curious, and then excited when she saw they were heading for Jenny's restaurant.

"Hi Jenny."

"Will!" Jenny exclaimed when she saw him, a big smile on her face. She walked over to him and gave him a hug in the doorway. "And hi Maddie."

Maddie smiled back. "Hi Jenny."

"We've got a bag for you," Will said.

Jenny laughed. "I can smell that. Come on, bring it in." As she turned around she swung the ladle around her wrist, which connected with an apprentice's head. "Get those ducks ready! No waddling around."

Maddie was impressed at how quickly Jenny could go from motherly warmth to kitchen commander and back again as she lead them further into the kitchen, Maddie carrying the bag full of flowers.

"Just put it down here, dear."

Jenny untied the string at the top and looked in with a satisfied smile. She looked up at Will.

"This looks to be an excellent harvest, Will. I'll get plenty of cordial out of it. How much do you want for yourself?"

Maddie looked on in interest. She could see this was a business transaction, not just a friend doing another friend a favour.

But Will shook his head. "Nothing this time, Jenny, just some lemons, please. I've got another bag on Tug and thought to teach Maddie how to do it."

Jenny smiled and nodded. "That won't be a problem; just got in a shipment in in preparation for this." She almost offered to teach Maddie for him, but realised Will would have asked if he wanted her to. No, this would be not just a teaching experience, but also a bonding experience for them.

She turned to one of her assistants and called out in a sharp voice. "Take the bag and get started on cutting the flowers from the stems; take the large keg. And Eric, get me five lemons for the Rangers, then take another five and start cutting them." She turned back to Will. "Anything else I can help you with today?"

Will shook his head. "The lemons will be fine, Jenny."

A young girl took the bag, smiling a bit nervously at Maddie, and Eric quickly got the lemons for Will, who gestured for him to give them to Maddie. Maddie was a bit amused at how they treated her, both cautiously and respectfully and with great awe. She knew Will was both well respected and liked, and the locals were proud at having a local boy as their Ranger and one of the greatest Rangers in the kingdom.

Maddie and Will both bade their farewell to Jenny before heading back out to their horses.

"So, we're making cordial and you've got a deal with Jenny, who normally do it for you?"

Will nodded. "Yes and no. I've got a deal with Jenny to do the harvesting, since the best trees are almost an hour away on foot, and in return she normally either makes a batch for me or give me the lemons to do it myself. It varies.

"This way Jenny and I both save time as walking there, doing the harvest, and walking back would take at least two hours and easily more. And I will save the time making a batch for myself. For me it doesn't take much extra time to cut flowers for Jenny, too, and Jenny can quickly and easily run two batches."

Maddie nodded her understanding. Jenny was Will's friend, but they both understood the importance of trading favours and services. Maddie knew Jenny wouldn't charge Will for eating at her restaurant, so Will rarely did it since he didn't want her to lose money. They were careful of keeping a balance to their relationship and Maddie admired how they had learned to do that despite their very different careers.

"Alright," Will said. "Take the bag from Tug and set it next to the veranda. Then get the small barrel and start cutting the flowers from the stems. I advice that your roll up your sleeves, because this will get sticky as you get pollen and juice from the stems over your hands. Make sure to carefully shake the clusters for small insects first."

"Yes, Will." Maddie took the bag and let Will take care of the horses. She put down the bag of elderflowers outside, and went inside for the barrel. Will hadn't said what to do with the lemons so she just left them in the kitchenette. By the time Will joined her on the veranda she was already well into the bag and both hands were slightly yellow and sticky, just as Will had said they would be.

"What now?" Maddie asked as they finished with the last flower cluster.

"Wash your hands, then fetch water for the large pot," came the reply. "The rest will be done inside."

"That's a shame," Maddie commented, looking around. It was a lovely summer's day and it had been nice sitting on the veranda working.

Will smiled. He was happy to see how Maddie had taken to the outdoors and Ranger life. It made him proud whenever she did something simply because it needed to get done or he saw her joy at being in nature or shooting with her bow. He knew their time together would come to an end, but he wanted to make the most of it while she was here.

The first thing Maddie noticed going back inside was the intense, sweet smell of flowers. She'd noticed the flowers seemed to smell more inside at Jenny's, too, but not like this. It made her mouth water and only made her more excited for what the cordial would taste like.

"Here's the water. I'm guessing we're warming it?"

"Boiling, in fact," Will replied. He had placed the large pot on the stove and the barrel with the flowers were on the floor, standing to the side. "Get the pot of honey," he said as he was getting a good flame going.

Maddie complied and put it next to the stove.

"Now normally I would set the water boiling while cutting off the flowers, but I wanted you to take part of the whole process, so we're doing it a bit more slowly. Now take the honey and add fifteen large dollops to the water and don't be greedy about it."

Maddie raised an eyebrow. That was a lot of honey, but she was pretty sure Will knew what he was doing; after all, he was a great cook and she wasn't.

"Excellent. After that, wash the lemons and slice them."

Maddie thought that Jenny hadn't told Eric to wash the lemons. Then it occurred to her that maybe she didn't need to, because he already knew.

Will stirred the pot slowly while Maddie cut.

"Shall I add the lemons to the water as I get them done?"

Will shook his head. "No. The lemon slices go into the barrel with the flowers."

As the water heated up, the honey melted, and Will put a lid on the pot to help speed up the boiling process doing an occasional stir to make sure no honey got stuck on the bottom. He looked at Maddie.

"Normally I'd just add the honey in the end after getting done with the flowers, but it doesn't really matter much one way or another. Just make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot."

Maddie nodded her understanding and finished with the lemons. She liked the smell of them and licked the juice off one of her fingers, then made a face.

"It's sour! Are you sure it's a good idea to put them into the cordial?"

Will smiled. "Quite so. It would get far too sweet without them. Besides the juice from the lemons actually help bring out the taste more. Now go wash your hands; it will be a little while yet before the water is ready."

§

Maddie watched as Will took the pot off the stove and put aside the lid. The water quickly stopped bubbling, but it was still sending clouds of vapour into the air.

"Help me pour it over the flowers without any spillage."

Maddie quickly complied taking the handle on one side, fully knowing that Will could do this himself, but that he chose to include her. She got a cloud of vapour in the face as the near boiling honey-water went into the barrel, carrying the intense smell of the elderflowers with it.

Will took a large wooden spoon and stirred the mix then put a lid on it and placed the barrel in the cold hole; the cold hole was basically a dirt hole dug out under the cabin that kept cool year round thanks to the earth and the shadow of the cabin over it. It was accessed through a small trapdoor in the floor and measured about eighty times eighty centimeters wide and sixty centimeters deep. It was mostly used to keep fruit and meat cold and from spoiling.

Maddie looked on curiously as Will closed the trapdoor over the barrel with a satisfied sound.

"That's it; we're done for now."

"So what's next? When is it done?"

"Now you'll take a wooden spoon and stir it before going to bed and again in the morning. Make sure you use a clean spoon every time," he added.

Maddie noticed now quickly Will went from 'we' to 'you', but she was used to that; it was all part of being the apprentice. "And then?"

"Then you'll continue doing that until I tell you it's done," Will replied.

Maddie nodded and shrugged mentally. Apparently Will was done with this lesson for now, so asking more questions right now wouldn't get her anywhere. She noted with some interest that although the cabin still had a strong smell of elderflowers it was now less intense compared to when the flowers had been standing here in the open barrel.

Will brought her out of her ruminations with a clap of his hands. "Now, enough standing around; we have other things to do. Grab your bow and arrows; you have shooting practice."

Maddie quickly complied and pushed the thought of the elderflower cordial from her mind.

In the evening she did as Will had instructed and opened the trapdoor to the cold hole, lifted the lid and stirred the mix in the barrel. As she took out the spoon she noticed a few drops of cordial sticking to it and she licked them off. It was sweet and fresh, but only mildly so. She idly wondered what it would be like when it was done.

§

Over the next few days Maddie kept stirring and tasting the elderflower cordial by the end of each stirring. By the third day Maddie was impatient for the cordial to be done so she could have a proper cup; the few drops she tasted every time were now intense in their taste and she felt it must be ready. She glanced at Will many times during the day, but there was no sign he thought it was time for the next step yet. By the time she stirred it in the morning on the fourth day her patience was out, and she put her hand on her hip as she gave Will the hardest stare she could muster.

"Come on, Will! It must be done by now!"

Will looked over at her from the fireplace where he was stocking new wood. Instead of answering outright he stood up, dusted off his hands and went over to Maddie and the open barrel. He grabbed a spoon and had a taste himself. Then he nodded.

"Yes, I think it's ready to be strained today; it's nice and strong now." Maddie looked relieved, but Will continued before she could speak. "But first we have other things to do, so get the lid back on. You still need to finish the rest of your morning duties."

Maddie nodded though she was a little disappointed they were not getting on with it right away.

An hour later they were back in the kitchen after Maddie had run her morning runs around the forest and had finished washing off. Will was already there, and when her eyes got used to the gloom inside she could see he had already prepared for straining the flowers from the cordial.

"So what now?" she asked as she walked over to him. She looked curiously at the contraption Will had erected on the kitchen counter; it was a keg with a ring suspended about thirty centimeters above it on four wooden legs, which grabbed unto the keg itself. From the ring was a piece of cloth hanging down in the middle and held in place with a second ring over the first. Maddie had never seen anything like it before. "What's this?"

Will smiled. "This is the keg that will hold the cordial for however long it lasts and the strainer attached above it. Take the large ladle and we will begin in a moment." With those words Will bend to open the trapdoor and lift the barrel out and onto the counter, too. Maddie could barely see above the edge now. But Will had a solution for that and pushed a stool over to her.

Maddie raised an eyebrow at him in the same fashion Will and Halt so often did.

"You'll want to be able to easily reach above the edge of both the barrel and strainer; otherwise your arms will be sore and heavy very soon."

Maddie stepped up and was secretly pleased she could now look into the centre of the hanging cloth.

"Alright, Maddie. Here's your lesson about straining elderflower cordial; you can only pour so much into the cloth for straining at at given time. It is important it doesn't get too top heavy here at the beginning, but also that the cloth doesn't suddenly become too heavy and slip. That would mean either starting over or risk losing everything."

Maddie nodded her understanding.

"So take the ladle and start pouring the cordial into the centre of the cloth so we can strain the flowers and lemons from the cordial."

Maddie smiled. That seemed easy enough and she quickly filled up the ladle and poured the content into the cloth watching it pour more slowly through the centre into the keg. She quickly followed suit, but got a bit overeager and some of the cordial spilled on the counter. Will immediately chided her for her impatience.

"It's better not to fill the ladle to the brim; that way you don't risk spillage."

Maddie nodded and took greater care in filling the ladle and pouring the content. Will watched a bit then nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. That's a fine pace, Maddie. Keep going until you have most of the cordial out of the barrel and into the keg."

"Then what?" Maddie asked. "And should I avoid getting any flowers or lemons scooped up in the ladle?" she added.

Will shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I wouldn't recommend trying to fish for them, but they will also be put into the strainer. Just do it last and focus on the liquid until it's mostly empty." He looked a moment longer, satisfied Maddie had caught the idea of it. "I will be going outside to work a bit; call if you got problems. Otherwise just call when the barrel is almost empty."

Maddie nodded again, a look of concentration on her face as she kept careful watch of how much cordial were in the strainer at any given time. Will smiled to himself and left her to it.

§

"It's almost empty, Will," Maddie called, and Will came back inside a moment later. She was really happy Will had given her the stool otherwise she thought it would have been really difficult to judge when to pour and when the barrel was almost empty.

Will looked into the barrel and saw it was mostly flowers and lemon slices along with the final dregs of cordial. "Excellent. Put the ladle aside; the rest we will pour directly into the strainer."

Together they lifted the barrel up, Will holding the bottom and Maddie guiding the top so it was directly over the centre of the straining cloth. She used the ladle to get all the flowers and lemons out and Will put the barrel down on the floor.

"Great. That's it. Now it just have to finish dripping off. Go out and rinse the barrel and lid. Then get ready to go for a ride."

Maddie smiled and thought that she would finally get a proper taste of the elderflower cordial today; four days of waiting were almost over. "Where are we going?"

"Tracking. Now get going," he said, shooing her out the door.

§

It was a warm day and Maddie soon found herself sweating under her cloak, but Will didn't show any discomfort as they rode around and often stopped and dismounted to look closer at different tracks. Maddie knew this exercise well, as she had gone through it often; she was to spot and point out the different tracks they came across, and if she missed something Will would simply stop Tug and wait to see if she would spot it on a second look and otherwise point out what it was she missed. It could be a frustrating exercise since Will was a much more experienced tracker than she was, but she was fairly good herself. She just needed to stay focused on the task and she usually spotted most of the tracks in the forest.

Almost two hours passed before Will finally called a halt to the tracking exercise and had her practice unseen and unheard movement, which was always much more difficult during the day. By the time they got back to the cabin for the midday meal Maddie was sweaty, hungry, and parched. She had water with her, of course, but the warm day had quickly gotten it to taste leathery and she had opted to wait for the fresh water of the pump at home.

Even though she was thirsty herself Will had taught her to always take care of her horse first, so she followed him into the stable to rub down Bumper and make sure he had fresh water and hay before drawing a bucket of water and taking it into the house.

Will was waiting for her in the kitchen giving the straining cloth a critical look.

"Something wrong?" Maddie asked.

Will shook his head. "No. I just want to be sure this is done dripping before I remove the strainer." He picked up the ladle and gently pressed down on the flowers and lemons lying in the cloth and a few extra drops made their way through.

"I think it's done now," Maddie said, peering closely at the underside of the cloth. She could see no more drops forming.

Will nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Then let's get this contraption off and see what we think of the result."

Maddie nodded eagerly. She had thought of getting fresh water back at the cabin, but getting some cordial sounded even better, and the quick draught she had had at the pump wasn't enough to quench her thirst anyway, so she quickly produced two cups for them while Will loosened the legs of the strainer from the top of the keg and put the whole thing to the side. He didn't pour the elderflower cordial immediately, but instead stirred it first like Maddie had done over the last days, then filled the bottom of each cup.

Maddie felt a bit disappointed she didn't get more, but supposed this was just a small taste and the rest would be saved for later. She lifted her cup, but Will stopped her.

"Not yet, Maddie. We haven't added water yet."

Maddie looked at him in confusion. "Why are we adding water to it? Isn't this already flavoured water?"

"In a sense, yes, it is. But it's flavoured water with a very strong taste of elderflowers and lemons and should be diluted again with unflavoured water," Will explained. He shrugged. "Besides it wouldn't last for more than a few days if we drank it undiluted, though we could certainly do that."

"So we dilute the taste?" Maddie said doubtfully.

"Trust me, there will be plenty of taste even after we dilute it. It's just a matter of getting the ratio right."

Maddie nodded though she didn't feel completely convinced and let Will add the water; she didn't trust herself to get the ratio right.

Will handed her cup back to her and lifted his own. "Cheers."

Maddie smiled and put the cup to her lips. It was sweet and fresh and with just a hint of sourness underlying the sweetness and it didn't taste like water at all. It also brought to mind midsummer celebrations back at Araluen where elderflower drinks would be served from large casks and kegs on the tables along with plenty of food. It made her think of dancing and laughter, warm summer days and bright flowers and clothes.

She opened her eyes again and looked at Will. "I like it!"

He smiled. "I thought you would. We'll put a lid on this now and save the rest for later. Mixed in with our water in the water skins it won't get the leathery taste, at least not in a really noticeable way."

Maddie made a face. "Yeah, leathery water is not a favourite thing of mine."

"Me neither." Will looked at the keg. "With the two of us here it probably won't last more than three weeks, even if we ration it, so it won't last all summer, but we can enjoy it while it lasts."

"Can't we just make more?" Maddie asked.

"We can, but we can't spend all our time around the cabin making elderflower cordial for the next two-three weeks. Besides there's only so many flowers we can take and we should leave some for others and to become berries."

Maddie nodded her understanding. Will had taught her the importance of only taking what you needed from nature and leaving something for the animals and other humans. Still, she felt that a three week supply was almost nothing and that they should be allowed to make at least a little bit more.

As if he could read her mind, he said: "We'll make an extra barrel after midsummer and hope it will see us through the worst of summer. Now let's finish up; you have target practice to do."

Maddie happily complied and drained her cup. She couldn't wait for the next.

§

"I think we get this every year at midsummer celebrations," Maddie commented to Will.

Will nodded. "Yes, it is tradition in Araluen to serve elderflower drink at midsummer. The elder trees usually start flowering a week or two before midsummer, though it depends on what part of Araluen you are in, and that makes it perfect to make for the midsummer celebrations. They will keep flowering at least a week after midsummer, too, but the elder trees flowering is how people know it's midsummer in Araluen."

"I never really thought about how it's made," Maddie mused. "It seems simple enough though it takes some time."

Will nodded in agreement. "It is rather simple, but yes, it takes several days from start to finish."

"What about the flowers? You said they could also be used for food." Maddie stared out over the veranda nursing a small cup while enjoying the evening sun with Will. This whole process had left her curious to know more.

Will was happy she remembered that when it had just been an offhand comment. "Yes. The fresh flowers can be dipped in pancake dough and fried; it's a kind of a sweet dessert thing, and the flowers, fresh or reused after making the cordial, can be used in making jam."

"What else?"

Will laughed. "You'd have to ask Jenny that. I mostly use them for cordial and jam, and Alyss was very fond of the dessert."

"Wait," Maddie said as something occurred to her. "You said the used flowers can be reused in jam? Did you throw them out?"

Will snorted. "Of course not. I wrapped them up and put them into the cold hole for making jam later."

Maddie relaxed again. "Good. Because I'm curious about that now. And we'll have to make the fried flowers, too."

Will laughed. "Don't worry; those should be part of the midsummer celebrations at Redmont. And if we deliver a bag we are sure to get a little extra," he said with a conspiratorial smile and a wink. "Ranger's privilege."

Maddie returned the smile and grinned at Will. As a princess she would have had the same privilege, but it felt so much better knowing she got the special treatment, because she had worked for it. "No chance we can make it ourselves before midsummer, too?" she asked hopefully.

Will shook his head. "We need to go on patrol tomorrow; we haven't been out patrolling anything but the immediate area in almost a week and this is a large fief. Unless we get going we won't even make it back in time for the celebrations."

"In that case, I vote we leave early," she replied.

"That was the plan."

Maddie looked out at the forest thoughtfully for a moment then turned to Will with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Will... are there any chance we could have the jam ready for taking it with us?"

Will shook his head at her. He hadn't counted on quite such an obsession with elderflowers when he decided to do this with her. "It will take too long; we're leaving early tomorrow, which means it's almost bedtime. We'll do this once the second batch is ready."

With those words he stood up, dusted himself off, and went into the cabin to prepare for the night.

Maddie glanced out over the clearing and into the forest for a moment longer. Then she sighed and followed Will inside. As he had said; they had an early start tomorrow.

§

"Ugh! I really, really, _really_ need a bath!" Maddie exclaimed, as they cantered into the clearing around the cabin.

"Agreed," Will said, and Maddie glared at him. That was fine for him so say; he wasn't the one who had been puked on by a brigand after they had apprehended him. "But first you need to get water and hay for the horses."

Maddie glared a little more as she swung out of the saddle, but knew he was right; the horses always came first. Besides she had gotten the worst off her clothes by rinsing it in a stream, but it still stank.

Will led both horses into the stable while Maddie filled two buckets with water. By the time she was back with it Will had already gotten Tug and Bumper unsaddled and were removing the grimes.

"Alright, go get yourself bathed; I'll take care of the horses."

Maddie looked at him with some surprise since they normally did this together, but when Will tossed his head in a 'get going' motion, she quickly dropped the last hay and hurried to the little addition to the cabin that had a shower. She knew the water would be cold, but there wasn't time to warm it up; the apprehension of the brigands and then turning them over to the local lord had cost them time in getting back to the cabin, and Maddie did not want to be late for the midsummer celebrations. So she steeled herself for the cold water and made sure she got properly soaped and washed off to remove any trace of the smell of puke. She also took her puked on clothes into the shower to give them a rinse, but knew she would probably have to do it properly tomorrow.

When she was done she simply wrapped herself in her cloak and hurried into the cabin.

Will had placed her equipment next to the door, and she saw him walk out to shower himself just before she went into her room. As much as he might have teased her about needing a shower he also wanted one himself after the last few days on the road.

Maddie had a moment of doubt as she looked at her clothes wondering if a dress would be more appropriate for the midsummer celebrations, but then she decided that she was a Ranger's apprentice and Rangers always wore their uniform.

Half an hour later they were both clean, in fresh clothes, and ready to head to Redmont.

There was already a lot of people on the road when they rode up to the castle and a few even waved as they passed on their horses though most just gave a respectful nod.

"Will! Maddie! So good to see you!" Jenny's excited form greeted them from across the yard as she hurried to ensure that all the food was being properly prepared and swung her ladle at any apprentices, who weren't quick enough in their tasks.

Will and Maddie dismounted and greeted her with warm hugs.

"We even got something extra for you," Will said and pulled the bag off Tug.

Jenny's smile got even bigger and she beamed at both of them. "I didn't think you'd have the time, Will. Someone told me they saw you ride back to the cabin not even two hours ago!"

Will shook his head. "We didn't stay at the cabin for longer than necessary and just swung by the trees on the way here."

"Well then, you both get double elder sweethearts for dessert!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Elder sweethearts?" Maddie enquired.

Jenny nodded at her. "Just you wait 'til you taste them; then you will know why they are called elder sweethearts."

Maddie smiled back. "Can't wait."

Jenny smiled warmly at them. "Y'know, this is why you are my favourite Ranger; you take the time to do things like this for your friends."

Will smiled warmly at her. "Any time, Jenny."

"Favourite Ranger? And here I thought that was me."

They all turned to see Gilan gliding towards them like a big grey-green shadow, a grin on his face.

"Well, if you want that title you will have to work harder, my dear," Jenny said fondly.

Gilan reached her and wrapped his arms around her. "How about the fact I came all this way just to be with you?"

Jenny laughed and Will snorted.

"Don't lie, Gilan," Will said. "We all know you came all this way for the food."

Maddie couldn't hold back a little snigger at that, but got her face into a neutral mask when Gilan glanced at her.

"Well, alright, it was both the company _and_ the food that lured me here."

Jenny smiled and swatted Gilan lightly on the arm. "Alright, you're still my favourite Ranger at all other times, but tonight the title goes to Will."

Will took a mock bow and the others laughed.

"Well, I must get going; still got lots of things to do." Jenny untangled herself from Gilan's arms, a bit reluctantly, and went back to being the kitchen commander, bag in hand.

Will turned to Gilan. "Well, I guess we will be stuck with you tonight; Jenny will be too busy to give you much attention."

"Oh, I know," Gilan said. "Besides, her company wasn't the only company I came for," he said with a wink. "I've got a couple of good friends here."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Will replied, as they started walking the horses to the stables.

Gilan laughed and Maddie smiled as she watched the byplay between the two old friends. Once Halt joined their little group she felt it would probably be like a mini Gathering here at Redmont and that sounded just perfect to her.

§

"Here you go, Maddie. Give it a try." Jenny looked at her expectantly, and Maddie had a sudden fear that she wouldn't like it at all. But she knew Jenny was an expert cook and she loved the elderflower drink Jenny had made, so she carefully bit down into the fried flower cluster and chewed it. She immediately knew what Will had meant when he had said the elderflower cordial would get too sweet without the lemons, because this was really, really sweet. Not in a bad way, just in the kind of way that you couldn't eat too much of it or you'd get queasy. But as a sweet dessert? In that way it was just perfect.

"This is great, Jenny!" she said and a few bits of unchewed flowers and pancake sprayed out. Maddie quickly swallowed, holding her hand up in front of her mouth apologetically.

Will rolled his eyes. "Still got some manners to learn," he mumbled, but there was no venom in the words.

"And here's one for you, Will," Jenny said warmly. "Remember I'll be saving an extra for both of you."

Will accepted it with a smile. "Don't worry, Jenny; we won't forget that."

Jenny laughed and shooed them on after handing Gilan one elder sweethearts, too.

They sat down at a free table and Will glanced at Gilan's elder sweethearts.

"You got a bigger one than either of us."

Gilan smiled at him. "That's because I'm still Jenny's favourite Ranger," he said with a grin, before taking a big bite out of the elder sweethearts.

"Cheater," Will breathed, but he smiled as he bit into his own.

§

It was late, but there was still plenty of dancing going on. The Rangers had retreated to the shadow of a tree as they watched everyone else. Lady Pauline had managed to drag Halt out dancing, much to the amusement of Will and Gilan, but they both knew Gilan would be out there as soon as he could pry Jenny away from her ladle and pans and pots.

Maddie was chewing contently on another elder sweethearts, the third of the evening. Having made friends with Jenny was definitely one of the best things she had ever done.

"Well?" Will asked her quietly as Gilan saw his chance and slipped away to catch Jenny. "What do you think of it?"

Maddie smiled at him, full of food and a bit sleepy. "This," she said, holding up the remnants of her food, "is great. And this – " she waved a hand around to take in all of Castle Redmont and the people there "– is the best midsummer celebration I've ever been to." She thought for a moment. "But don't tell my mum that."

Will smiled. "Don't worry; we Ranger's look out for each other. I won't tell on you."

Maddie smiled back. Yes, this was definitely a night to remember. She might be going home soon, but before then she and Will would have plenty of time for mischief and making elder sweethearts and elderflower cordial and jam. She just had to convince him first, but she had a feeling that wouldn't be too hard.

She was right.

Next to her Will was thinking along the same lines already looking forward to adding to their supply of cordial and making the most of the time they had left together.

But tonight they were both just enjoying each others quiet company, watching the happy people dance and laugh in the bright summer night.

* * *

AN: I don't know the actual name of the 'elder sweethearts' in English, so that is a loose translation from Danish. (Hyldekærester). If someone do know feel free to tell me and I can change it in the story. :)


End file.
